1. Field of the Invention
Model Aircraft Covering Tool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the building of model aircraft, it is common practice to form the wings from a hollow frame work or skeleton of light weight rigid material such as balsa wood or the like, with the wings subsequently being covered with a sheet of pliable material such as silk, monokote, solar film, silk span, tissue, fiberglass, or the like. The sheet covering material after being placed in taut smooth contact with the framework of the model aircraft such as the wing, portions of the fuselage or the like is adhered thereto by a suitable adhesive, or heat sealing, or other conventional means.
In the past, various devices have been developed and used to hold the pliable sheet material in a position to cover the wing or other desired component of the model aircraft, an example of which device is the tool disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,386,727 that issued to applicant on June 4, 1968. Although the device disclosed and claimed in this patent is capable of performing the function of holding a pliable sheet of material in a taut position over a desired component of a model aircraft, it has the disadvantage that it is expensive to produce, bulky and cumbersome to store, and as result has had limited commercial use.
A major object of the present invention is to supply a tool that includes a pair of laterally adjustable base members that have longitudinal dowel receiving slots therein that removably engage marginal edge portions of a span of covering material, which span need not be separated from the roll or longitudinal sheet of which it forms a part, and the tool then disposed to overlie a wing or desired component of a model aircraft that rests at an elevated position on a flat horizontal surface such as a table top or the like, and the base members not contacting the horizontal surface, and as a result the weight of the tool causing the span of covering material to assume a taut condition in which it extends over the trailing and leading edges of the wing to be subsequently secured thereto by heat sealing, adhesives or other conventional means.
Another object of the invention is to supply a tool that is preferably substantially formed from wood, has an extremely simple mechanical structure, has components that are elongate in shape and are capable of being disposed side-by-side in a compact package to occupy a minimum of space prior to the sale thereof, and a tool that may be easily assembled by either a novice or expert model builder in a minimum of time and with a minimum of inconvenience.
Another object of the invention is to supply a model aircraft covering tool that may be retailed in a knock-down condition in a compact package and assembled by a person having a minimum of mechanical skill without difficulty, and the tool when not in use capable of being disassembled to occupy a minimum of storage space until again needed.
Yet another object of the invention is to supply a tool that is laterally adjustable for the particular wing or component of the model aircraft that is to be covered with a sheet of pliable material, and the sheet when in taut condition with a component capable of being not only bonded thereto, but after the bonding operation is complete one or both of the elongate base members that form a part of the invention capable of being used as a straight edge to sever surplus sheet material from the span of material that is in taut covering contact with the wing or component of the aircraft that is disposed between the base members of the invention.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred form thereof.